Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel More DLC Inbound Along With Free Update

This news will bring both a grimace and a smile to the faces of gamers all in one swoop. Gearbox and 2K Games have announced that a new batch of paid DLC is inbound starting December 16th. For all the groans that slowly and painfully escaped the mouths of gamers tired of the DLC-brigade, the opposite side of the news reveals that Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel will also be receiving some free updates for people not keen on paying monthly-notes on their $60 games in order to get the “full thing”.

Now, don't get me wrong, I like some DLC and expansion packs for games out there. I bought all of the DLC and then some for the first Borderlands. However, I got a bit peeved with the over zealous DLC antics for Borderlands 2. I'm definitely a completionist and I prefer my games whole; imagine my surprise when I found out that the season pass for Borderlands 2 didn't actually cover all the DLC, and then imagine more of my disdain when I found out that Borderlands 2's Game of the Year Edition doesn't even include all the DLC and expansion packs. It's like, where can you just buy the full thing with everything included without constantly paying for extra later? When you're paying for DLC for a game like you're paying monthly bills, it's time to call it quits on that game... for me, anyway.

Nevertheless, it looks like there's going to be plenty of post-launch DLC available for Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel and those who paid $29.99 for the season pass will automatically gain access to the The Holodome Onslaught DLC, which is part of four free DLC packs that will be available to those who purchased the season pass. For everyone else, the DLC will be available for $9.95. According to the press release [via Blues] the total value of all the unreleased DLC packs comes to $39.96, so gamers are saving around $10 with the season pass. I have to say, that's a pretty crummy deal, especially compared to Max Payne 3's season pass... it seemed like there was a ton of content in that pack and I had more stuff to play than time to play it. That's the kind of season pass that pads my jimmies... instead of rustling them.

As mentioned in the press release...

“This add-on pack features all-new narrative content including appearances from veteran Vault Hunters Gaige and Axton, who recently returned to the Crimson Raiders HQ. While they were gone on a mission, they missed out on the events of Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel and ask Athena to recount the story. Since they’re not the most patient badass Vault Hunters on Pandora, they just want an abbreviated version – only the juicy, violent stuff.

“As Athena tells the tale, you’ll play through The Holodome Onslaught, a new challenge arena where you’ll fight wave after wave of foes, including some of The Pre-Sequel’s most memorable badasses as well as several new enemies. You’ll also be able to earn new weapons, new class mods, and some radical new heads and skins.“

As for the free update for people who aren't keen on paying for various service levels of DLC, the update will become available next week called the Ultimate Vault Hunter mode. It's a third playthrough mode that will increase the difficulty of the campaign and give gamers more reasons to replay the game. This is actually pretty cool, especially considering that players won't have to pay to replay the game with a harder difficulty. Isn't it amazing that we're thankful devs are including difficulty settings in games for free? I'm willing to bet a few years from now we'll be thankful when full endings won't cost us extra.

The new patch will be available for all Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel owners for free, but the DLC pack will carry a $9.95 price tag and will launch on December 16th for the Xbox 360, PS3 and PC.